CULTURE AS A BASIS OF CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN IDEOLOGY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

The author accepts the inevitability of the complex nature of contemporary Russian culture, and identifies four relatively distinctive social-cultural groups in the Russian society: (1) the most numerous layer of adherents of the past and, thus, nostalgic for the Soviet culture; it consists of representatives of all social-demographic groups that adhere to traditionalist patterns and norms; (2) proponents of the so-called ‘liberal views’ attracted by the principles of commercialization of culture in today’s consumer society though in general the western liberal culture failed to form a stable social basis in Russia and is still highly heterogeneous; (3) the conservatives oppose the on-going social-cultural modernization of the Russian society in its nowadays interpretation, and call for preservation of traditional and even archaic components of the Russian cultural identity; (4) finally, there are representatives of religious culture, which is becoming increasingly popular due to the active position of religious figures and open state support to religious initiatives. The author emphasizes that the social-cultural situation in Russia is complex and dynamic, it can-not be explained only by confrontation of the above mentioned groups, it is also influenced by subcultures and, in its turn, determines the ideological views of social strata. The second part of the article is devoted to the analysis of ‘ideology’ as a contemporary concept, mainly in its geopolitical dimension that reflects a complex combination of elements of different geopolitical models, both foreign and specific Russian (former Soviet and current, reflecting the position of Russia in the globalizing world and its aspirations in domestic and foreign policy). The author believes that the Russian geopolitical strategy under the current social-cultural changes has not been finalized yet, and insists on its urgent development in the format that takes into account interests of all citizens of the country, its geographical diversity and social-cultural features so as to consolidate the Russian society on the basis of the best samples of the Russian culture.